Ladder Bay
I come to this little cove often -
no work, I have time to burn.
Watch shellfish raiders plunder
the foreshore with no concern.
Red-bill seagulls fly in circles,
fight over scraps they have won.
Never giving a thought to Icarus
who flew too close to the sun.
Soon a woman wanders over
and asks me what I’ve caught.
I tell her “nothing yet” but “you’d
be a great catch” I thought.
I see the swallows smirk at me,
my appearance they detest.
But still I cast my line and fish
or at least I do my best.
Things start spinning in my head
like what it’s like to drown.
Did King Neptune sit on a throne
and did he wear a crown?
I come alone to this place often
to remember and reflect.
A place of beauty and meaning,
a place where I can forget.
Written: 1992
———
Ladder Bay is a sheltered cove in
the northern beaches of Auckland
New Zealand not too far from my
home in the East Coast Bays.
Copyright © Craig Bowden | Year Posted 2022
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